Spring through pictures

  

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was a blissful day! It was just perfect for a nice walk through nature and we went out of town to the nearest village to enjoy spring in its bloom.

 

The hill onto which the village is located is literally swarmed up with blooming trees and flowers so it was quite a sight for sore wintery eyes. Needless to say I was mesmerized and snapped photos to my heart's content.

 

 

It is an old village, though not deserted, so I also shot some ruined houses. Those of you who know me, know that I am strangely attracted to old houses being bit by the tooth of time, but I am saving those pictures for some other post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I sign off, let me wish you a happy start of the week and enjoy the blooms from my part of the world!

Tie Into Statement Bracelet DIY

 

 

Hello Friday!
I am so, so happy the weekend is here. After a tiresome and stressful week at work I am really looking forward for some walks in nature, fresh air and pink blooms.

But before I sign off let me tell you not to throw old ties away. Why not? Well they make really cute statement bracelets. All you need is a wild imagination and lots of what-nots (think of laces, ribbons, buttons, beads, charms...) to create some amazing OOAK bracelets.

Secondly, the tutorial below does not show you how to stitch the tie like I did with mine, but shows you the general idea of reusing a tie.

1. Take a tie, wrap it around your wrist to measure a nice fit, mark it (pin it).

 

 

2. Cut it.

 

 

3. The inside of the tie. The back part should be sewn onto the middle heavy fabric piece (I don't know what that is called), so you unpick it.

 

 

 

4. When unpicked cut that middle piece up to 3 cm / 1.2"

 

 

 

 

5.  Fold the upper layers inwards (up to the cut off part) and pin. You may want to iron so that the edges are neat.

Thread a needle and sew the edges using an invisible stitch.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Decorate it. For my bracelet I stitched it with embroidery floss. It wasn't easy because I worked with a silk tie and where I used thicker thread it wrinkled and made folds, but I don't really mind that. Also I added one of the ceramic beads I suffocated you with in earlier posts.

 

7. Add push snaps and you are done!

 

 

This tie was not my original choice - instead I had selected a golden one. I washed it got it ready for transformation and it suddenly disappeared. I turned the house upside down but couldn't find it to save my soul. I am sure it'll turn up now that I posted this and when it does I am going to show you another method of beautifying old ties.

 







If you try this and post it anywhere, drop me a note - I'd love to see it!

Happy weekend!!!


Happy March! - Embroidered Bib Necklace

 

 

 

Happy March to all!

In my part of the world it feels like spring already. Nature is waking up, flowers started to appear, birds are chirping, and it all contributed to an enhanced spring like mood.  And that resulted in this beautiful embroidered pendant I made for myself.

In fact this was one of my planned "Making jewelry" projects - and I wanted to make a tutorial for this, but when I started working I simply couldn't stop until it was done.

However, I didn't discard the idea, so next week I will have the tutorial for this ready.

Enjoy the rest of the day!



Interviewing Stephanie from Wimcee

Hello dear readers!
I have a special treat for you today! I'd love to introduce Stephanie whom I first met on FB. I was immediately captured by the textile artists she promoted on her page and I felt we are on the same wavelength right then and there. Since then I have been religiously following her posts and they come like a magical ointment on a sore day. I am sure she'll do her magic on you too :)

1. Introduce to my readers please? Who is Stephanie?

I am a painter, portraiture in particular, so I've always worked with colour, composition, and pattern. I've found more recently the joy of 'painting' with fabric, yarn and other media, playing with mixes of colours and patterns in 3-dimensional soft sculptures as well as one-of-a-kind wearable pieces. That sounds serious, but really it's more like play! I have had my label, wimcee, for almost 10 years, and exhibit at galleries and retailers as well as selling on-line and occasionally at markets.

2. What do you specialize in making?
I learned to use a sewing machine making aprons, and that's remained my mainstay. The apron is a simple garment which lets me concentrate on embellishment: I enjoy the humorous reference to gender and the retro connotation, but there's also a lot of cultural and tribal symbolism about the apron. I also make handbags and totes, soft furnishings, jewelry, art dolls and clothing.

 

 

3. Apron couture being your mainstay, how did you start designing / sewing aprons and what part of the process do you enjoy the most?
My first apron was for a friend who collects aprons and wears them as part of her street wear. I used a pattern from the internet for a very full waisted apron, but as I became a more confident sewer I started modifying patterns and making up my own designs. There's nothing too complicated about the one-size-fits-most apron and I often use gingham as the main fabric so that all the geometrics are built in for lining up pockets and so on. If I'm using a big mix of fabrics I tend to put everything I think might work down on the floor and add or subtract from there - it can be really surprising how different fabrics work together. I'll also add braids and ribbons to the mix although I may not use them all when it comes to putting it all together. When an apron is made I will then often make up some brooches for it using some of the same fabrics, or I'll work up an embroidered felt motif based on a feature design.

4. I am deeply in love with your stunning and unique bags and totes - what fabric and other materials do you usually find suitable to use in your creations?
I love making bags for the same reason that I enjoy aprons - they are a great vehicle for experimentation with colours and patterns and embellishments. I also value so much that they are useful. I use a mix of new and re-purposed fabrics, including vintage kimono silks and crepes, recycled furnishing fabrics and charity shop woollens that I've felted - I've even used favourite garments, incorporating features like button closures into the new design. Where it lends itself to a style I often use crochet, or work a panel of embroidery, to increase the 'specialness' of a piece, and I also have fun with the odd bag charm or brooch too!

 

5. Where does inspiration come from?
My Facebook page is much more about all the wonderful work being done by others around the world, although I do share my own work as well, and I find the curating activity of choosing what to share from other pages with my own followers extraordinarily inspirational - I usually can't wait to start creating myself. I am also connected with crafters and artists locally, and they're a very supportive sharing community. Creativity thrives on bouncing ideas around and then putting your own stamp and interpretation on your own particular vehicles and vessels.

6. What do you do in your free time?
I really do like to cook, and to catch up with friends and family. I'm not very good at not keeping busy, but our local beaches are a great place to relax.

7. Any other crafts you'd like to try your hand at?
I am in the midst of a second ceramic course with local ceramicist extraordinaire, Clairy Laurence and enjoying that very much, but I would also like to get serious about journaling and mixed media at some stage as well.

 

8. Is there anything I didn't ask and you'd like to share with us?
I don't think so Maya. It's been a pleasure to chat, and thank-you!

Thank You, Stephanie for sharing this with us!

Visit Stephanie's etsy shop wimcee as well as her Facebook page for more eye candy!

The Irresistible Mori Crochet Pattern Pack

 

 

I call this The Irresistible Mori Pack.

It consists of my latest 4 rose necklace inspired by the mori lifestyle. Learn more about the pattern pack on Etsy and Little Treasures.
 

Blue Clay Jewelry

 

 

These are some more of the clay beads I made for my projects in a recent workshop.

The first photo is of my newest necklace. I had an idea of adding the beads to silk ties, but somehow ended with an ordinary metal chain, although it is possible that it gets transformed again. The beauty of designing your own pieces is that you can alter them after a time when they get boring or are no longer attractive.

The other two are brooches. The diamond shaped one is going to get an additional layer of purple sequins because I feel it lacks something.

This is what they looked like before:



Yumiko Higuchi - Embroidery Artist

Happy Monday everyone!
I wanted to start the blog week on a positive note (don't I ever?) with something beautiful and inspiring and for today I chose to introduce Yumiko Higuchi who is an embroidery artist.

I follow her across social media and first fell in love with her work when I saw her embroidered purses! One must simply be bedazzled by her work at a first glance. 

If you are interested to learn more about her work or even buy one of her books, explore her world here.

Snow Queen Rose Necklace and Earrings Pattern

My newest Snow Queen Rose Necklace and Earrings Pattern.

Etsy, Ravelry, Little Treasures

The Inheritance Project - Amy Meissner

 

 

 

 

The minute I read about the Inheritance Project I knew I was hooked. The name itself had that alluring quality  I couldn't resist. It think it is on Facebook I read about it first - some weeks ago and the post being accompanied with doilies, I knew I didn't have the strength to move and click on. And, boy am I glad I read it through!

So who is Amy and what is the project about?
Amy Meissner is an extraordinary textile artist and she is the creator of the Inheritance project whose ultimate goal is to have "an installation of up to 1.000 of textile projects - vintage embroidered domestic linens and old crocheted hot pads that will also represent a collection of the language that accompanies them, the makers, the origins, the details to give these unwanted items the voices they deserve." Check the Inheritance project Mystery Boxes here

 

Besides being a stunning textile artist, she is also an astonishing wordsmith! She is having a bewitching writing style and amazing stories to tell. You'll never regret paying her a visit! Read her stories here.


*** All images used here are sole property of Amy Meissner***